enameled cast iron

What with all this bread baking in a pot thing going on I have been considering buying an enameled cast iron pot myself. While I desire a small oval shaped Le Creuset pot to shape the bread, realistically I’d rather have a larger round one to make stews*. So of course I kept an eye out for the 5 qt. Chefmate pot that was so surprisingly well reviewed in the January 2007 Cook’s Illustrated magazine. Of course now it’s not to be found, and yesterday I came across this discussion on Chowhound. Looks like the plans where for Target to only carry the pot through January, and most people are unable to find it. People in the thread kindly give the item number for the pot and a customer service number you can phone** to find out if a Target store near you has one in stock. I did this and no luck. Oh well. I’ll have to keep an eye out for sales and hopefully I’ll find a nice no-name one like Domicile did.

* I just know a crock pot would be used once and put away, and my kitchen is too small for that.

** They’ll ask for your name and address, just tell them you aren’t comfortable giving out that information and they should back off, the guy I spoke with was happy enough to do so.

Have you seen theInnova enameled cast iron? I ordered a round, 5-quart dutch oven in blue for a friend as a Christmas gift this year, and it seems to be a great product so far. The color is beautiful. She has not yet tried baking The Bread. I should confess: I have the oval, 5qt. Le Creuset (in green) and have not yet made The Bread… I think I smell a bake off in the near future.

I got a Le Creuset round dutch oven (I -think- it’s 2.5 qt, but I’m not certain) at T.J. Maxx for around $35. I don’t know if they have T.J. Maxx stores in your neck of the woods, but you might try looking there or at Tuesday Morning (if you’ve got those).

Fred Meyer is carrying enameled cast iron, I think it’s Chef Mate but I definately wouldn’t swear to it. It’s cute and very reasonably priced but I haven’t tried it out myself. Worth a look if you are there anyway though.

There is a slow-cooking article in this month’s Martha Stewart Living that for some reason has been the tipping point in making me want an enameled cast iron dutch oven. I grew up with my Mom using the regular cast iron stuff (makes the best peanut brittle ever). Can’t find the article online, but the recipes are just a chicken and vegetables, barbequed pork, beef ragu with pasta (and squid of all things)–for me it was more inspirational than anything.

Liz – a lot of people have found that making the bread in a smaller pot is preferable as the 6 to 8 quart pots allow it to spread out and get flat. I use a 4 quart casserole dish, and in this follow up article Mark Bittman says he uses a 3 to 4 quart pot himself.

Save your pennies and buy the le creuset you will use it all the time. I did see some cast iron at ikea – though I can’t rememnber if it was enameled inside. Also Lodge is doing an enameled line. Mario Batali’s stuff at crate and barrel is gorgeous.

We have the ‘regular’ sized round Le Creuset in flame, I have no idea how big it is but it bakes a proper sized loaf of bread. I’m hoping the birthday fairy brings me the buffet pan – kind of a covered paella. I think I could cook for months using just those two pans.

Nia – I’ve seen the Ikea pots and they are enameled inside but with a matte black. Does anyone happen to know if the black interior creates trouble when cooking – like it is more difficult to see if the meat for a stew is browned correctly?

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Hi, I'm Megan. I live in Seattle with Scott. I make stuff and give you tutorials on how to make it too. I also keep a blog of what I'm up to and links to good stuff from all over.